Disable Clamshell Mode?

I too keep an external monitor connected to my MacBook Pro. I was accustomed (as you and probably everyone else) to my going to sleep when I would close my lid. I too am finding the new method in Lion of transitioning to the external monitor as the main screen to be an unwelcomed change. Hopefully someone somewhere has a fix.

I find it annoying too. I found out that unplugging the power adapter from the MacBook forces lion to go to sleep mode. If power adapter is plugged in and you close the lid, lion goes into 'clamshell' mode. I hope there is a solution for disabling clamshell mode even if power adapter is plugged in.

I, too, had become accustomed to simply leaving my external monitor plugged in and just closing the MBP to sleep it when I was leaving. Now with Lion, I have to hit the power button, select sleep, then close the laptop. Granted this takes maybe an extra 3 seconds, but it would still be nice to have an option, even command-line, to disable the "clamshell" mode so I can just swat the laptop closed and walk out of the room.

I rarely, if ever, use the "clamshell" mode. If my laptop is plugged into an external monitor, I'm using both screens at once.

Eversince I've installed Lion I have been annoyed by the new clamshell behavour as wel. And would really like a way to disiable it. Is there a fix yet?

Yeah, I spent some time trying to fix this, since I thought it was a bug. This is a very strange 'feature' that we should at least have the option of disabling. You guys should suggest it to Apple: http://www.apple.com/feedback/

True, very annoying. How much work could it be to add another checkbox to the display or energy saver pane?

I have found that this command in Terminal restores Snow Leopard functionality in Lion to closed-lid/clamshell mode.

1. Open up Terminal in /Applications/Utilities

2. Type the following command: sudo nvram boot-args="iog0x0"

3. Press return

4. You will see a warning about using the sudo command. PLEASE make sure you typed the command into Terminal correctly. Mispelling sudo commands can be... dangerous.

5. Type in your password to confirm the command and press return.

6. You should see nothing visible change.

7. Restart your Mac and the Snow Leopard functionality should be restored!

Note: Resetting the PRAM will erase this modification. If you are ever told by Apple to reset the PRAM or need to for another reason, you will have to do these steps again. The mod holds as long as the PRAM is kept intact!

Thanks for the suggestion Luke20333! I tried it but found out that it doesn't work on my late 2008 aluminium macbook though... Too bad.

Do you happen to know what string I need to set to return boot-args back to it's original setting?

Nice, I can confirm Luke's suggestion works for me (MBPro Mid 2010). Thanks!

I just want to be clear before I start SUDOing things:

This modification changes the MBP's behavior to simply sleep upon closing the lid when an external monitor is still plugged into the Mini DisplayPort? And the computer will awaken to both screens being on upon opening?

I Googled the sudo code you included and what I'm seeing is that people are using this to turn the MBP's screen off while the computer is open and on, and still be able to use the external screen. Essentially hitting the brightness key all the way down, but doing so in a way that actually turns the screen off (no ram or cpu usage, moving the dock to the external screen, etc).

Eh, I'm just going to test it out and see if this allows me to do I want to do: leave an external monitor plugged in and be able to swat the lid closed to totally sleep the computer. I'll post an update after I try.

DanielG. wrote:

Unfortunatley, the terminal approach by Luke20333 didn't work for me (13'' MBP Mid-2009, 2.26 Core 2). Anything else would be greatly appreciated.

How about Apple Logo, upper left hand side of the mneu bar, then Sleep. I haven't tried it but it should work.

Don't you think?